


Return of the devil

by yellowbutterflies



Series: F1 heist au [13]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Based on a Tumblr Post, Child Abuse, Comfort, Cute, Daniel is the best, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forest Walks, Gangs, Gun Violence, Guns, Heist, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jos Verstappen's A+ Parenting, M/M, Max Needs A Hug, Past Child Abuse, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sebastian being a dad, Shooting, Someone dies, Sort Of, again not necessarily a happy one, but we’ve been knew, charles is a little shit, it’s a good ending, like literally - Freeform, not necessarily a happy one, once again, you can forgive him for casino now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:13:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29657370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowbutterflies/pseuds/yellowbutterflies
Summary: Max knew his dad would return, there were rumours Fernando had taken him in. Max knew they would see each other again, he just didn’t imagine it would end like thisOrJos’ return in the heist au
Relationships: Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Max Verstappen & Sebastian Vettel
Series: F1 heist au [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109519
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	Return of the devil

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this [Tumblr post](https://eight-hearts.tumblr.com/post/639492987051802624/can-you-please-post-the-link-to-the-f1-heist-au)
> 
> Thanks to [@formulola](https://formulola.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Someone requested prompt 1: “Take another step, and I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” And mentioned Jos and I just absorbed the idea so here it is

Max always figured there would be a day when he father inevitably returned. He knew that, his father wasn’t dead. His father had left Carbon alive and there were rumours Fernando had taken him in. Max liked to keep these thoughts in the back of his head, he liked to hide them. He didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t think about it. He didn’t want his father to return but he knew it was going to happen. That didn’t mean he liked to think about it. 

The thought kept him awake at night, he lay in bed tangled up with Daniel and he’d think about it. He’d play it out in his mind, he’d play out the possibilities. Max would think about how it might go down, would he run? Or would he let it happen? 

Max didn’t know what he would do. He knew he’d probably freeze, who wouldn’t after seeing the person who brought them the most pain? He just hoped he wouldn’t be alone if it ever did happen, then he’d be in trouble. Right now, he just wants his head to shut up about it right now. He doesn’t want to think about it. He wants his dad out of his head for good. He knows the last one is very far out of his reach but it doesn’t mean he can’t want it.

He wished his dad didn’t affect him as much as he does, he wished he wasn’t always constantly on his mind. Everytime he does something, all he can think about is how his dad would react. When Daniel would kiss him, his brain would tell him that his dad would kill him but he shakes that thought off quickly. He loved Daniel, he would risk it for Daniel but other things it’s a different.

When Max gets a hack wrong or messes up on his work, he thinks about how his dad would react. He knew his dad would slap and called him stupid. He knew his dad would tell him he was a failure and his dad would rather have someone like Charles as a son. It would bother Max when his dad said things like that. Charles was a good person, he was a lot better than Max was. He deserved more than Max did. He didn’t deserve Max’s dad talking about him behind his back. When his dad brought up Charles, it would be the one time he would stand up to him because Charles meant a whole lot to him. He couldn’t face his dad doing that to Charles but to him, it was a different story. 

He had grown up with it, he became accustomed to it. That hurt Max, the fact he had so easily taken everything from his father. His father had always said he was weak. Sometimes Max believed him, he could see why he thought that but other days Max knew he was strong. He was stronger than his dad would ever be. His dad could never match the mental strength that Max had. He would never have that over Max. 

“Max?” Daniel says sleepily from beside him, rubbing his eyes as he sat up slightly. 

“Go back to sleep, Danny.” Max whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Dan asked, not letting it go. 

“Sleep, Daniel.” Max told him. 

“You’re crying.” Daniel wiped his tears, since when was he crying? “Why didn’t you wake me?” Daniel held him. 

“You were sleeping.” Max mumbled, shrugging slightly. 

“That doesn’t mean anything. You need me more than I need sleep.” Daniel tucked his chin on top of Max’s head. “Talk to me baby.” Daniel said. 

“Just thinking about my dad. Nothing much to talk about.” Max shrugged as he buried himself into Daniel, hoping Daniel could shut his head up. 

“He’s not your dad.” Daniel brought him closer. “He’s the devil. Why don’t you listen while I’ll tell you a story?” Daniel suggested. 

“Okay.” Max closed his eyes.

“Good boy.” Daniel kissed his head. 

Max tried to listen while Daniel spoke, he really did. He loved Daniel’s voice, he could listen to it for hours but in this moment he couldn’t focus on anything other than the voice in his head who would never shut up about his father. He wanted to listen to Daniel, he wanted to fall asleep to his voice. The voice he loved so much but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking. 

He buried his head into Daniel’s neck, burying it as far as he could. He knew he was crying, he could feel it on his cheeks. He knew Daniel had stopped talking and was holding on to him tight but he didn’t acknowledge him. Max knew eventually he fell asleep with the tears still rolling down his cheeks.

The next morning, he felt groggy as he woke up. His head hurt and so did his throat. Daniel came into the room not even a minute later with a plate of scrambled eggs on toast and a glass of orange juice. He smiled softly at Max, he placed the glass on the night stand before crawling into bed next to Max and handed him the plate. Max looked at Daniel and then the plate.

“Want me to feed you, Maxy?” He asked, not judgement in his voice whatsoever, just care. He really did love Daniel, loved him to the moon and back, as cheesy as that was, it was true. Daniel meant so much to him. 

“Please.” Max said hoarsely, nodding his head. 

Daniel smiled at him and put some egg and toast on the fork he had brung. He held in front of Max’s mouth and waited patiently until Max took it. As he was being fed by Daniel, Max wondered what he did to deserve Daniel. If he was alone right now he wouldn’t eat or drink. He knows he wouldn’t. He would lay in bed feeling sorry for himself but Max knew Daniel wouldn’t let him do that. He knew Daniel would make sure he ate and drank enough. He knew Daniel would make him go for a walk with him. Max wanted to know exactly what had done to deserve Daniel, to deserve literally the nicest human he had ever met. 

Daniel rarely did things for himself, he always did things for others. It was never about what Daniel could gain, it was about what other people could gain. He wasn’t selfish, he looked out for others and made sure they were okay. He would do everything he could to help them, he wouldn’t give up so easily compared to other people. Max was grateful for Daniel, grateful that he had an amazing boyfriend, grateful that he had someone to look out for him, grateful he had someone to look out for.

After the Casino accident, Max thought Daniel would leave him. He thought Daniel would think Max needed someone better. Daniel did think that. Max knew that but he thought the feeling would overtake Daniel’s mind and force the Australian to leave him. He didn’t. If Max was in his position, he would have left. He would have assumed it was better for the other person if he wasn’t there and he would have gone. Max would have ran as far as he could, he would have ran somewhere nobody could have ever found him.

He always wondered why Daniel had come back. Then Daniel had told him it was Max who made Daniel come back. It always had been Max, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the best thing that had ever happened to him. Daniel couldn’t bring himself to hurt Max more than he already had.

After all that, Max made it his mission to show Daniel how much he cared, to show Daniel how thankful he was that he came back, to show Daniel how much he loved. It seemed Daniel had the same thought.

If Max was in a relationship with someone else he doubts that they would be feeding him right now. They would probably leave him to suffer alone, they probably wouldn’t even know what was wrong. He knew Daniel knew it was still his father bothering him purely by the way Daniel was acting. Daniel was being more gentle with his movements, he was kissing Max’s shoulder everytime the Dutchman took a bite. Daniel was being gentle with him because he knew that’s what Max needed. He knew Max needed simple, soft touches. He knew Max needed him.

Max didn’t go to work that day, Daniel had already told him he wasn’t allowed to go. He needed to clear his head, not make it more stressed by doing work. Lewis had already cleared him and Daniel for the day. Daniel had gotten him out of bed, he had gotten Max in the bath. He had filled it with a few bubbles, he had let Max relax against his chest. He had gently cleaned Max with a flannel, he had gently washed Max’s hair for him. Daniel had wrapped Max in their fluffiest towel and kissed him until Max couldn’t help but laugh at Daniel’s silliness. He let Max choose one of his hoodies to wear, he let Max style him because he knew how much he loved it. He let Max choose where they were walking because he knew Max had different places he liked to go when his head screwed him over.

Daniel kept a hand of Max’s thigh as he drove them to the nearest forest park because Max had requested that’s where they go. He held Max’s hand as they walked along the forest path. He posed for a photo beside the nature when Max had told him he looked good. He held Max when he started to cry, rubbing the Dutchman’s back to calm him. He gave Max a piggy back when he was too tired to walk back to the car. He made Max a homemade pizza for lunch because he knew it would cheer him up. He let Max put on a Disney film because he knew it could make Max happier.

Everything he did that day, he did because of Max. He did it even though he didn’t have too.

It showed Max how much he was loved, it made Max feel safe.

Sebastian came to check on Max, the German really had become his father just like he was for Charles. He had brought over some leftovers for Daniel and Max. Everyone loved Sebastian’s cooking at Carbon, so he always made extras for anyone who wanted it. He stayed and chatted for a few hours, letting Max curl up beside him while he explained a few things they missed and needed to know. 

He made Daniel leave at one point, telling him to go check on Lewis. Sebastian did this so Max could tell him things that he perhaps didn’t want Daniel to hear. Max found it easier to talk about certain feelings with Sebastian because he didn’t have the same relationship with Sebastian that he did with Daniel. 

Sebastian and Max had a father/son relationship while Daniel was Max’s boyfriend and love of his life. It wasn’t as easy to tell the person you loved the most that you wanted to rip into your own head to quiet the voice. Max found it easier to tell Sebastian that. Maybe it was because Max seemed to think Daniel would worry more but Seb and Daniel worried about Max all the same. He left once he was sure Max was okay and Daniel was back. Max and Daniel headed for an early night. 

“How are you feeling?” Daniel asked as they laid in bed that night, their legs tangled up. Daniel’s fingers carding through his hair.

“Better.” Max curled into Daniel more. “Thank you.” Inhaling Daniel’s scent that always calmed him down. 

“Always, anything for you Maxy.” Daniel kissed his head, holding him close. 

Max’s head hadn’t shut up at that point but it had gotten quieter and it was all thanks to Daniel. When he eventually fell asleep, the voice was still there but it wasn’t as loud. It didn’t disturb his sleep as much as it usually did.

The next day Lewis had called a meeting in the morning, it wasn’t unusual for him to call last minute meetings like this but it wasn’t exactly common either. Lewis was very organised with his meetings. Him calling the last minute meeting meant something was happening. Max didn’t know whether he would prefer that something being good or bad. Daniel held his hand tightly the entire way to the meeting room, he didn’t even let go as they sat down. Max thought Daniel could probably tell he was slightly on edge.

“Now everyone is here…” Lewis paused as his eyes scanned the room. “Where’s Charles, Pierre?” The Frenchman shrugged, he was confused too. He hadn’t seen Charles for an hour. 

“I’m here.” Charles came through the door, out of breath. “Also, the bathroom door on the fourth floor needs replacing.” He said as he took his seat. 

“Care to explain why?” Lewis asked, looking at Charles. 

“I got stuck in the bathroom and had to break the door down.” Charles shrugged as if it was obvious. Only Charles would get stuck in the bathroom. 

“Moving on.” Lewis cleared his throat. “I’ve had intel from a dock worker that they are expecting a large shipment tonight. A large shipment for who the worker believes in Fernando. We are going to intercept that, if you wish to sit out, please tell me. If not, consider yourself on the job. I’ll be sending out an email of everything I need done. The shipment comes in at 10pm tonight.” Lewis finished. 

Nobody asked to sit out, they usually didn’t unless they were having a bad day. Max was quite excited about this job, The Arrows had stolen a shipment over their own a few weeks ago. It was finally time for them to fight back. Carbon never fled from a fight.

Daniel walked him to his office, kissing him softly before he left. Max took his usual seat beside Lando, the Brit smiling wide at him. Max could easily tell that Lando was excited too. Pierre and Carlos soon filed in. Usually, Max, Carlos and Lando would wait for Pierre’s instructions as he was the head in the IT department. Today was no different though. Sometimes they didn’t need to wait, today they did. They waited while Pierre read the email. 

“Right, so we need all the camera footage they’ve had for the past 6 weeks. Any pin codes too.” Pierre explained and the four of them started getting to work, a silence falling over the room. Almost as if their mouths have been glued shut. 

Being a hacker wasn’t the easiest job but it wasn’t the hardest either. They had to be able to have a lot of focus, something Max didn’t really have right now but he was determined to get this done. He wanted to do this.

He didn’t want to go back to not working, he had hated that both times he was off work for a few months. He loved his work, he loved being able to sit at a computer and just type. He loved the rush of adrenaline you would get when you were moments away from breaching the security. Surprisingly, hacking calmed Max. It gave him something to focus on, it was hard for his head to focus on his dad while he hacked. It meant he got a temporary escape from everything in his head but he could still hear the voice quietly in the back of his head. He could hear it threatening to get louder and it just made Max work harder, it gave him more motivation. 

The whole of Carbon seemed to be on edge that day, Max wasn’t surprised. They had very little time to sort everything they needed tonight. Lewis didn’t like to give them big jobs like this when they had very little time but sometimes it was required too, like now. They didn’t know when they would next get an opportunity to intercept a shipment. They had to take the chance while they had it.

Max spent the majority of the day typing away at his computer, he had to remind Lando on more than one occasion to put his glasses on. Daniel forced him away from his computer at lunch. He carried him all the way to the cafeteria because he knew the second Max got the chance to go back to the IT lab he would. Daniel didn’t blame him because it quietened the voice in his head but Max still needed to eat. Max was grateful that Daniel would look out for him like that. 

By the time 9pm rolled around everyone was in their vehicles, armoured up and guns readied. Max would have preferred a quiet ride to the docks but when you are in a car with Charles it is never quiet. The minute he got into the car he plugged his phone in the aux cord. Lance rolled his eyes as he started the ignition. Max hated the fact that Charles blasted music on their way to the location. 

At least Charles had some sense to turn it down as they approached their location. They were going into the docks through the back entrance, Lewis’ contact letting them in. They had to hide their cars and wait until Fernando arrived, then they could ambush him when they went into the warehouse.

At 10pm the contact informed them that Fernando and his gang had showed up. Everyone immediately turned into action mode and headed towards the warehouse. There were three entrances for the warehouse, the front, back and roof. Lewis had divided Carbon as equally as he could for the three entrances. Max was going through the back entrance.

The minute they entered, Fernando’s gang picked up pretty quickly what was going on. Within a minute of them entering Fernando’s gang had pulled their weapons out and there was a cloud of smoke engulfing them. Max heard Pierre shout for Charles, last time this happened it was after Charles had been kidnapped and they were rescuing him. Max felt someone grab and his first thought was that it was Charles, letting someone know he was okay but then the smoke cleared and all of Fernando’s gang had gone. All but one and they were gripping Max, an arm around his throat and gun pressed to his temple. Max’s gun had been discarded. Sebastian had to hold Daniel back when he saw who it was, Charles would have probably tried to go for him too but Pierre currently had him in a tight hug.

“Hello, Max.” A familiar voice growled in his ear, it took Max’s brain a minute to realise who it was because he didn’t want it to be true. Lewis went to take a step forward. “Take another step, and I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” He told the group. 

“You are outnumbered, let him go.” Lewis didn’t look fazed by Jos, he always knew how to keep a poker face. Max wish he knew how to do that. 

“You try anything and I’ll shoot him, don’t think I won’t.” Max closed his eyes, he didn’t want to look at anyone, he didn’t want to look at Daniel. He didn’t want to see the hurt.

“I wouldn’t do that if i was you.” Sebastian said, Max opened his eyes a little, Daniel was now being held by Valtteri. Sebastian and Kimi had moved to be beside Lewis. Max had forgotten Kimi had come along.

“Well, if it isn’t Kimi. Haven’t seen you on a mission since my rookie days.” Kimi humbled in response. 

“Let him go.” He said.

“Not a chance.” Jos returned.

“Jos, we aren’t asking anymore.” Sebastian added.

Max tried to control his breathing, he tried to turn all his focus to his breathing rather than what was going on around him. In for three, hold for one, out for three. In for three, hold for one, out for three. In for three, hold for one, out for three. He repeated the mantra in his head, he repeated it until he felt himself relax, he repeated it until he felt strong enough.

If you were to ask Max where his strength came from, he really couldn’t tell you. He went to the gym a few times a week but he moved something heavier than the weights he lifted at the gym.

When Max felt the strength in his body, he reached for Jos’ arm and flipped him so Jos flipped and landed on his back. While Max did this he grabbed the gun out of Jos’ hands. As soon as Jos was sprawled on the floor, Max straddled his torso and held the gun to Jos’ head. His father looked at him with wide eyes, his hands trapped by Max’s knees. 

Max didn’t see the shocked expressions from Carbon.

“Do it.” His father spat and Max thrusted the gun further into his head.

He couldn’t pull the trigger, he couldn’t bring himself too. There was something that restricted him from doing it, even though his father had hurt him at the end of the day he was still his father. There were still nice moments that the pair had shared. Max knew Daniel couldn’t do it either, he wouldn’t do unless Max told him to with his words but Max couldn’t trust his voice right now.

Max looked up and over to Sebastian. He looked at the man who was his father, Jos had lost his father privileges a long time ago. Sebastian was the one who had been his father this entire time. Max nodded at Sebastian, hoping he would get the message.

“Daniel take Max back to the car, everyone else grab some goods and leave quickly.” Sebastian instructed. 

Daniel waited until Sebastian could take over Max’s place before he took Max away, keeping the Dutchman close. 

“You should have stayed the fuck away from my son.” Was the last think Max heard and he was surprised to hear it come from Sebastian’s mouth rather than Jos’ 

As they walked away, Max heard the gunshot. He heard the second one that followed it. He just curled himself into Daniel. Lance ended up driving the leader’s car, Pierre drove their car. Max and Daniel on the backseat, Max crying silently into Daniel’s neck.

They arrived back at headquarters as the leader's car did. The minute Sebastian got out of the car, Max rushed over to him and wrapped his arms around Sebastian. He didn’t care about the blood he was covered in, he didn’t care that it was his dads. He just cared that Sebastian was here.

“I meant what I said, you’re my son.” Sebastian whispered. “He’s gone now, he can’t hurt you. That voice will fade one day.” He held him tight.

“Thank you.” Max replied.

“Anything, at least you aren’t a problem child like Charles.” He joked in an effort to cheer Max up, it worked to a point.

“I’m only trouble when he’s involved.” Max said.

“Why don’t you go cuddle with Daniel in the comfort room while i shower and then we’ll gather the whole of Carbon and have a family game night.” Sebastian suggested.

“Really?”

“I think we could all use one, it was once a tradition in Carbon, maybe we could bring it back.” Sebastian said as he walked Max over to Daniel.

The voice was going to fade one day, it would never leave Max, he knew that but he also knew it would fade. It wouldn’t bother him as much anymore. Max didn’t need to worry anymore, Jos couldn’t hurt him anymore, he had a new dad now. He had a new dad all along, he just hadn’t seen him till now.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is [@landonorrisgeorgerussell](https://landonorrisgeorgerussell.tumblr.com/)


End file.
